Sometimes Reality is Better
by Danica Napier
Summary: What James was thinking when the Siren tried to convince him that she was Snow White. Set during What Happened to Frederick.


**Hello! This is my first time writing for Once Upon a Time, but I watch this show religiously, and I finally decided to write a story for it! I was going to write a Rumpelstiltskin/Belle story, but I don't have any ideas for a story for them yet, so I am adding to the numerous David/Prince Charming and Mary Margaret/Snow White fanfictions! Hope you like it! **

She was beautiful, that was for sure.

He was mesmerized. She just rose out of the lake, like a goddess, with her soaked blonde hair and angelic face. She smiled at him, and even though it was pretty, James saw something in it besides prettiness. It was sinister. Challenging. She was sizing him up.

"What's your name?" she asked, and she started walking towards him gracefully, her feet on top of the cool water. She raised her eyebrow slightly at him when he didn't answer, and continued her way towards him. "Would you like to know mine?" She kept walking, and as she did, triumph started to grace her smile. "Because I can be anyone you want me to be."

"Stop!" James pointed his sword at her. He knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to take advantage of him. But he wouldn't let her. He came here for a purpose. He came here to help Abigail get Frederick back, and no one would stop him, no matter how beautiful this lady was.

She barely had time to look at him strangely before he continued.

"I know what you are," said James. "You're a Siren. Your deceitful words are a spell meant to lure me to my death."

"I would never hurt such a brave, powerful man like yourself," she said, smirking at him slightly, trying to stroke his ego. She moved forward, moving his sword gently so it wasn't pointed at her neck. "Not when there are so many other things we could do." Her hand was on his chest, and he felt a burst of anger.

"I said stop," he said sharply. "I will not fall prey to your deceptions." He grabbed her wrist.

"Really?" Now she was smirking at him. She took her arm away from him and faced him head-on. "You're immune to me." He wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement. He watched her closely, his guard up, just in case.

The Siren bent down and took the lake water in her hands and poured it on her face, obscuring his view of her with her arms. Then, she took her arms away and she now had the enchanting face of Snow White.

His mouth hung open as he stared at her, when she finally spoke that voice that was so hauntingly familiar.

"Like me more now, Charming?" she asked in Snow White's voice. She was smiling at him just like Snow did, and it was killing him inside.

"No, you're not really her," James said, a bit breathless. But the way the Siren imitated Snow White, he could almost believe it really was her. "It's an illusion. I know it's not real."

"Sometimes illusions are better than truth," she said, walking towards him once again. "Everything you want, that you can't have, I can give it to you," she said huskily, her hand on his chest again. She was on his side, her face just inches away from his.

It felt like her too, and it was painful. Her hands were on his shoulders, and she was behind him. He was breathing deeply, trying to calm himself, trying not to give in to her. It was so hard.

"All you have to do…" she whispered, "is kiss me." She was right in front of him, and she leaned towards him. "I know you want to. I can feel it."

"No." But she kissed him anyway, and for one moment, he believed it was Snow White. Or at least he wanted it to be her. She had him wrapped around her finger now, and he didn't even notice that he had dropped his sword into the lake.

The Siren with Snow's face pulled away, smiling, and he realized what he had just done. She smiled at him prettily, kindly, and started to pull him towards the water.

"No," he said, and she stopped in her tracks, her smile gone. "I don't want an illusion. I want reality or nothing."

"This doesn't feel real?" she asked, looking hurt, and she brought him in for another kiss.

She kissed him desperately, passionately, lovingly, and he felt himself starting to give in. Was it her? Was it really Snow White? Or was it still just an illusion?

Yes.

They pulled away from each other, and he whispered, "Snow." He wanted his Snow. But the Siren interpreted it differently.

She smiled happily at him. "That's right, it's me." She kissed him again, and he wished that he could believe that it was Snow. But the way she kissed him made him fall even further into doubt.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips, looking at him as if he were the only one in the world. She kissed him again, but that was the killer of the moment. She had just spoken the words that had snapped him out of his reverie.

He broke away from her. "No. It's not you." He felt stronger than ever. The Siren thought that she could convince him, but she didn't know that Snow White had told him that she didn't love him.

"Yes it is!" she insisted, looking at him intensely. "I love you!"

"This is not real love," he said, and he meant every word he said. "I felt it. This isn't it." He pushed her away from him. His anger was rising with every second that passed. "I know the difference." And that was true. James knew that it wasn't Snow White's lips, and that was what made the difference. He would only ever want to kiss Snow White. If he wasn't completely in love with Snow, he would've been content with an illusion. But he was completely and hopelessly in love with her, and he knew that he couldn't just settle for an illusion. He wanted her. The real her. Because even though illusions often were better than reality, this time, reality was even better.

**So, what did you think? Good? Bad? I just thought that everyone would want to know what James was thinking when this happened, so I wrote this! Please review! **


End file.
